


Eddie Kaspbrak: Internalized Homophobia

by Beatles_and_Bellarke



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Character Analysis, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21529306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beatles_and_Bellarke/pseuds/Beatles_and_Bellarke
Summary: My silly literary essay I wrote for funsies about Eddie and why his fear of germs and it's embodiment in the Leper is so important.
Kudos: 9





	Eddie Kaspbrak: Internalized Homophobia

As one frequently does in the IT fandom, I have been looking at these characters and what their fears represent to each of them. My current focus is Eddie Kaspbrak and his internalized homophobia. 

Primarily I will be focused on Eddie and his fear of the Leper, mostly the depiction in the newer films (since I haven’t read the book in a long time). 

A leper as seen in IT chapters 1 and 2, is a grotesque almost zombie-like figure that skulks and appears extremely sick. The image appears to Eddie in front of Neibolt House and then eventually is revealed to be Pennywise, causing him to panic and run home. 

Now we know that Pennywise appears for each of the children as something different. The fears are often more internal and deeply ingrained that the children don’t really understand what these fears represent at first. 

For Eddie, his phobia of germs is embodied here. He can’t even be touched by this unclean figure without hyperventalting, using his inhaler and subsequently fleeing the scene. But is this fear of germs something else? 

The idea that a  _ person _ is dirty due to internal struggles with identity or sexuality is very much in play here. Eddie’s fear of germs could easily translate to a fear of being considered "dirty" by those around him, and that he needs to take extra care of himself to essentially clean the gay away.

His mother of course is no help with this because she also doesn't want her son to be seen this way or considered "unhealthy" so she makes sure to overdose him on meds and other things to make sure he stays, clean and whole and pure. Eddie is never taught by her or any other adults in his life, that the feelings he may have for Richie or any other man are normal and healthy.

The AIDS crisis was a huge overshadowing epidemic in the 1980’s and it hit the LGBT community the hardest. Automatically people heard the acronym and even if the patient was not in the LGBT community, they were seen as sickly and to be avoided; Almost like a leper. 

One stereotype/fear people had in relation to LGBT folks that is perpetuated in Eddie is the idea that touching someone could make them “dirty.” Eddie is not one for unneccessary touching. He literally shies away from most physical contact due to this fear of having germs spread. Thinking back to IT (2017) when all the losers are gathered around crying with Bill over Georgie, most of them are around him and in contact with him in some way except Eddie. 

And the other losers seem to understand Eddie’s physical boundaries as well. Like that scene in Ch2 when Bill accuses Eddie of being scared, yes he gets in his face but he never actually put his hands on Eddie at all. 

The one notable exception is his relationship with Richie Tozier. Richie is arguably Eddie’s love interest. Their banter in both movies, their connection to each other and the fact that canonically Richie is in love with Eddie all point to how their friendship is supposed to be seen. Despite Eddie’s dislike of physical contact, Eddie and Richie can't keep their hands, feet, and anything else off each other. It's complete and utter physical comfort. 

Eddie  _ knows _ Richie. Not necessarily accurate to say that he knows Richie's crush on him, but he knows that he's a fellow queer person in a time when it was very difficult to be out and loud. Eddie knows that Richie is like him in so many more ways than just the one which leads him to feel far more comfortable sharing his space and subsequently his germs with Richie.

They both feel safe with each other because they vibe well together. They're both outliers in their group. Ben and Stan were the chill ones, Mike and Bill were the leaders, Beverly was the only girl so she had her own vibes. Which then left Eddie and Richie.They coupled together, feeling on a very similar wave length. 

Both actively seek interaction with each other. It's a constant need. Both proximity wise and emotionally. Every little thing Richie says, Eddie has to be the first to respond and vice versa.

  
  


The shower cap scene in Chapter 2 is a great example: For context, the younger Losers are seen in a flashback in the clubhouse Ben built for them. Richie is sitting in a hammock and is approached by Stanley holding out a shower cap. When asked why he needed to put it on, Stan responds saying it’s for “the spiders.” Richie says they (the Losers) didn’t need a shower cap and the camera pans to the other children wearing their own caps, looking at him with incredulity. 

What’s interesting in this scene is that the one character who yanks his cap off is Eddie. Germaphobic Eddie was the only one to remove the cap  _ because _ his crush said it was lame. There was no other movement to remove the shower caps. The other Losers listened to Stanley and it made sense to them. But not Eds. He didn’t think twice about it. He just whipped that cap right off. And this was due to Richie making a comment. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Richie says something and Eddie responds. Whether that is verbal or physical is dependant on the situation, but it’s a constant. The Hammock Scene was another prime example of the intricate rituals of young love. Following the shower cap removal, Eddie makes up a ten minute rule  _ specifically _ to get in the hammock with Richie. He made a huge scene so that Richie would be forced to move over and he got in.

Eddie is afraid he’ll get “sick” and let these gay thoughts in so he focuses so much on getting rid of germs to keep himself safe. But his relationship with Richie showed him that he has nothing to fear from someone else being in his space. Due to this, Richie is the only Loser, with the possible exception of Stan, that Eddie wholly accepts into every aspect of his life. The physical closeness, the emotional connection and the utter trust he places in Richie Tozier gives way to a deeper meaning behind Eddie Kaspbrak’s actions. 

TLDR; Eddie is gay and fights his internal homophobia constantly in everything he does.


End file.
